


Imperfectly Perfect

by WhoreForFluff



Category: EastEnders (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - World War II, Angst, Angsy, Army Doctor Callum "Halfway" Highway, Attempt at Humor, Doctor Frankie Lewis, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, I have for sure forgotten some tags but oh well, M/M, Nurse Whitney Dean, Period-Typical Homophobia, Period-Typical Sexism, Soldier Ben Mitchell, Soldier Jay Brown, Soldier Mick Carter, not a lot tho - its not the focus
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-14
Updated: 2020-12-16
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:53:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26463706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhoreForFluff/pseuds/WhoreForFluff
Summary: Neither Ben nor Callum ever thought the war would bring anything but destruction, but with the help of each other and friends can they see that life doesn't have to be perfect to be worth living?I'm horrific at summaries but yeah, basically a ww2 fic with love and some semblance of philosophy to tie it all together lmaoSet in early-mid 1944!
Relationships: Callum "Halfway" Highway/Ben Mitchell, Frankie Lewis/Bernadette "Bernie" Taylor
Comments: 16
Kudos: 36
Collections: ballum lockdown





	1. Gay Panic™

**Author's Note:**

> This is my gift to eastendies for the Ballum Lockdown Gift Exchange! I've followed your blog for a while so I was really happy to get you, sorry I was a bit of an inactive anon but I hope you like this first chapter! If you want anything changed or if you have any ideas pls feel free to dm me :)
> 
> I've been rereading this chapter for weeks so it's extremely possible I'e made a mistake so comment if you see anything!
> 
> I'm not HOH so if anything is unrealistic, completely wrong, or offensive please please please tell me and I'll change it.

It’s strange how quickly you get used to it.

All the gunfire, mines exploding, aeroplanes zooming past above you. It all just eventually becomes background noise, a weird, brand new sense of normal that you have no choice but to adapt to while you’re at war.

However, there was always one sound Callum swore he would  _ never  _ get used to.

_ The screaming. _

He  _ hated  _ the screaming, he hated what it meant, and he  _ hated,  _ absolutely  _ despised  _ the fact that he probably wouldn’t be able to help, not in any meaningful way at least.

As a medical officer, it was Callum’s job to save these men, to put them back together, even though most of the time all he could do was delay the inevitable.

He could even hear them  _ now  _ when he was meant to be listening to his best friend, Dr Frankie Lewis. They were just outside the regimental aid post, sitting down in the dirt. It had been set up relatively close to the battlefield, maybe 250-300 yards away from the front line. Unlike at Callum’s last post where it had been in a dug out, they’d been lucky enough to find a ruined building to set up in. Callum preferred working in buildings, dug outs always feeling far too claustrophobic for the frenzy that was emergency war medicine.

Frankie had found him while he was eating in between shifts and joined him without invitation. They were both medical officers at the aid post, but they had known each other since their last base, when they had both been assigned to a dressing station. All they had done in the first couple of hours of being stationed was nod politely at each other, not really having a reason to speak while they weren’t actively treating patients, until Frankie realised Callum knew sign. They had been introducing themselves properly when Callum signed his words, looking sheepish when he realised and explained with a ”sorry, force of habit”. When Frankie gasped and started frantically signing back at him he had been overcome with joy and replied in turn.

They’d had a strong friendship ever since.

She hadn’t actually needed any invitation to sit down, not since a particular late night of talking about the emotional toll of being a MO. Callum had believed it was just him, that he’d been the only one to be caving in under the bloody, bullet-ridden weight that came with the job. It had turned out that he’d been completely wrong, as punctuated by Frankie furiously signing at him how stupid he was when he told her he was just as weak as his father had always said. She went on to tell him how isolating it was, being a deaf woman in the medical field, how she felt she had no one to confide in, how she  _ definitely  _ understood the weight he had described. Ever since, they had a deal to not let each other dwell too often, that whenever they saw the other looking particularly gloomy they would  _ always  _ make time to cheer the other up.

It was a nice friendship.

“Callum, oi!” Frankie called, waving a hand obnoxiously in front of Callum’s face. 

Usually.

He pushed her hand away with a long-suffering sigh and asked “what?”

“God, anyone would think that  _ you’re  _ the deaf one here” she said, hitting his shoulder slightly with a cheeky grin “I was  _ trying  _ to ask you what you think about the new boys”

“Dunno, haven’t met any of them yet” Callum replied, eyes drifting away as he crossed his arms.

Yesterday a brand new batch of soldiers had arrived at the base, rotating out one of the last platoon stationed there. They were nothing special, as far as Callum could tell, just a group of men fighting for their country for whatever reason, no captain americas to be seen.

Well, maybe  _ one  _ of them was slightly, not  _ not  _ special.

Callum had seen him jumping out of the truck with the rest of the new soldiers on his way to the medical tent. The man had been receiving instructions from his lieutenant, but for whatever reason Callum couldn’t tear his eyes away, oddly enamoured with the soldier. He looked around Callum’s age, had floppy brown hair, obviously in need of a cut, a strong build, and the stormiest grey eyes Callum had ever seen on a person. It was only when the man’s group walked off that he snapped out of it and kept walking.

“Why are you acting so suspicious?” Frankie asked, amused intrigue lacing her words, effectively jolting Callum out of the memory of the guy.

“I-I’m not!” Callum defended, gaze snapping back forward.

Frankie just gave him a look that screamed ‘are you shitting me’ “I can tell when you’re lying, Callum”

Callum sighed, sat forward, and rubbed his face, hands lingering as he rested his chin on his fists “ _ maybe  _ one of them is, maybe, just  _ slightly _ ” he quickly glanced around to make sure they weren’t being listened in on, before thinking better of speaking and quickly signing  _ “one of them is kind of handsome” _

Frankie gasped happily and leaned forward too, mirroring Callum, before frantically signing back  _ “you’ve got a crush!” _

Callum shifted uncomfortably, eyes skittishly darting back around the yard. Rationally, he knew no one would be able to understand what they were talking about, if someone else knew sign Frankie would know, but 28 years of having to keep his being gay a secret had made Callum just a  _ little  _ paranoid.

_ “Maybe? I don’t know!”  _ Callum signed, movements small and quick, his face conorting uncomfortably.

Now it was Frankie’s eyes scanning the yard, searching each soldier’s face  _ “which one?” _

_ “He’s not here, I think he’s digging in the trench” _

Frankie giggled and asked  _ “You know his schedule?” _ looking happier than she did when she found out Callum knew sign.

_ “I might’ve been looking at the rota and his name just  _ happened  _ to catch my eye”  _ Callum signed, slow and heavy with shame. In Callum’s defence he  _ had _ been looking for his own shifts, and if he’d already known them well, Frankie didn’t need to know.

_ “You know his name?” _

_ “Shut up!” _

Frankie giggled and nudged his knee with hers  _ “wow,  _ someone’s  _ infatuated” _

_ “I am not!”  _ Callum signed, moving quick and furiously,  _ “I just think he’s attractive, and besides, is not like anything can happen.” _

Frankie’s smile dimmed slightly, and she shifted closer to him  _ “You don’t know that, maybe he’s, you know, like us” _

Callum scoffed quietly and leaned back, bringing one knee up to his chest. They had found out the other was gay when Frankie had accidently injected some Polari into a sentence, and after gaping for a moment Callum responded with some himself. It had been like feeling a proper connection for the first time, finally finding someone who was  _ the same.  _ It had been  _ amazing _ , a perfect, once in a lifetime moment.

A  _ once  _ in a lifetime moment.

_ “You know that there’s no way Frankie” _

Frankie sighed, and looked at him with the same determination in her eyes she had before pulling off a medical miracle  _ “there was meant to be no way a woman could become a doctor, but I did it, so maybe there’s a way you could have something with this guy” _

At Callum’s eye roll of disbelief she added  _ “you deserve it” _

Thrown off guard by the sentiment Callum sat stunned for a moment, trying to process Frankie’s words  _ “what’s got you being so hopeful? I thought you were more of a realist” _

Frankie laughed slightly, looking down,  _ “I, just might, also have a bit of a crush, and if you have a chance then, you know”  _ she took a deep breath  _ “maybe I do too” _

Callum looked at her incredulously, gasping for air  _ “You what? Who?!” _

Frankie just smiled a shit-eating grin and got up, tapping her nose “It’s my shift in a couple of minutes, see ya!” she called, walking away before Callum could sign anything in reply.

Callum looked down at his watch, and realised that he was meant to start working his own shift soon. Groaning, he got up, stretching his tired muscles, and walked off into the aid station.

XxXxXxX 

“What are you staring at?” Frankie asked, causing Callum to hit his head off the shelf above the one he was restocking.

Well,  _ meant  _ to be restocking.

Rubbing at his injury Callum stood up straight and gave Frankie a pointed glare of ‘what was that for?’

Frankie just looked at him unimpressed and said, “don’t give me that look, knowing you, you would've done that whether I had said anything or not” and finished by signing  _ “idiot” _

Callum just laughed slightly and signed  _ “what did you say?” _

“I said!” Frankie began, much louder than she knew was needed “what were you staring at?!”

“Nothing” Callum answered, far too quickly to be believable.

Frankie’s face lit up with glee and she whipped her eyes around the station “is he here?” she exclaimed, almost jumping with joy.

Callum grabbed her arm to pull her into a nearby empty corner  _ “not so loud!”  _ he signed  _ “what if he hears you?” _

_ “So he is here!”  _ Frankie’s face was engulfed by her smile, and it was so infectious that Callum could feel the corners of his mouth tugging themselves up despite himself.

He let out a long sigh and signed a small  _ “yes.” _

_ “Sorry, do that again Callum, couldn’t see that” _ Frankie sassed, looking like that cat who got the cream.

_ “He is here!”  _ Callum signed, overexaggerating his movements out of pettiness.

_ “Well where is he then?” _

Callum hesitated slightly, before realising that he would never hear the end of it if he didn’t tell her.

_ “He’s over there talking to Nurse Dean”  _ Callum signed, refusing to look over himself in case the guy saw. Frankie on the other hand whipped her head over so quick Callum had half a mind to check her for fractured vertebrae.

She stood quietly for a minute before signing  _ “he’s looking at you” _

Callum’s world  _ immediately  _ tilted on its axis.

_ “He’s what?!”  _ Callum signed, now more resolute than ever to not look, which was unhelped by his overwhelming  _ need  _ to do the opposite.

Why was the man looking at him? Callum was  _ sure  _ they had never met before, so what if he knew Calum liked him? What if he knew Callum was gay? What if he was just deciding when to tell the higher ups? All these questions and more shot through Callum’s brain like a bullet, leaving him reeling.

_ “Yeah, maybe it’s wishful thinking, but I  _ believe  _ he’s checking you out”  _ Frankie signed, after turning her head back to Callum so that they could communicate properly.

A dismissive scoff punched its way through Callum in between his panicked breaths.

_ “I’m serious! If I know what checking someone out looks like, and I do, that’s what he was doing” _ Frankie implored, with even the look in her eyes screaming ‘he likes you dumbass!’

Callum attempted to look even slightly put together, and panickedly signed  _ “is he still looking?” _

Frankie looked back over and shook her head.

Callum took a deep breath, closing his eyes, and glanced over to the soldier. He was still talking to Nurse Dean, Whitney, as Callum had come to know her, and  _ God  _ was he just as stunning as the first time Callum had seen him. He had a smudge of dirt just under his left cheekbone, extenuating it, and his hair was sweaty and pushed back, steel eyes in full view.

Callum felt his soul cry a little.

He looked back at Frankie, his face pain-ridden  _ “Frankie, help me, he’s even more attractive than when I first saw him” _

Frankie just laughed at his pain, and tapped his chin lightly  _ “get a grip, Callum, he’s just a man” _

_ “Yeah, but a ridiculously handsome man!” _

A laugh came from the otherside of the room.

And Callum felt his muscles seize up.

“ _ Please  _ don’t tell me” Callum breathed out, and Frankie just giggled again.

_ “Frankie”  _ Callum began, both elated to hear what the man sounds like and  _ praying  _ that it wasn’t him,  _ “please don't tell me it was who I think was that just laughed” _

_ “Well to do that I’d have to lie, Callum, sorry”  _ Frankie replied, looking like she wasn’t going to let Callum live this down for a long time.

Knowing her, Callum thought, she wouldn’t.

_ Hey, remember that time the guy you fancied laughed and you nearly died? _

_ Frankie, please. _

Callum groaned  _ “why is he laughing? Did I just do something stupid?”  _ Callum asked, hands moving so quickly he wondered if Frankie could even understand him.

_ “Callum, darling,  _ calm down _ ”  _ Frankie instructed, her face in an expression of pure fond amusement.  _ “He probably just laughed at something Whitney said” _

Callum let out a sigh and signed  _ “yeah, you’re probably right” _ before shoving his head into his hands in worry. After a few seconds however he remembered that the guy might be looking at him again, and quickly shot his head back up to look back at Frankie. However, when he looked at her, she had her eyes firmly trained at a spot just over Callum’s shoulder, a look of awe on her face.

Callum tapped her arm to get her attention. She kept staring for a moment before her gaze startled back to Callum, a blush rising to her cheeks.

_ “What are you looking at?”  _ Callum asked, a grin creeping onto his face. He  _ knew  _ that expression, it was the one he’d had on just before Frankie had interrupted him.

_ “Nothing”  _ Frankie signed, before adding  _ “don’t you dare turn around” _

Naturally, Callum spun around. Ignoring Frankie’s squawk of protest he observed a nurse organising a shelf like the one Callum had been stocking. Her hair was tied up in a messy bun at the bottom of her head on account of her hat and she wore the standard grey nursing dress. Callum laughed breathily, realising this was the woman Frankie had alluded to.

He turned back around to confirm his suspicions  _ “so, I’m guessing you’re not looking at the poster on the wall” _

Frankie glared at him, betrayed, before deflating, closing her eyes briefly, and nodding. Callum smiled gleefully and signed  _ “she’s pretty” _

_ “Uh and how would you know?”  _ Frankie signed snarkily, her cheeky grin starting to spread back across her face.

Callum looked at her incredulously  _ “I’m _ gay _ Frankie, not  _ blind _ ” _

Frankie rolled her eyes  _ “I suppose you’ve got a point, I can also see that your man ain’t half bad looking” _

Callum laughed and signed  _ “I know, right?” _

They smiled at each other contentally, not for the first time realising how lucky they were to have found each other.

Their moment ended abruptly, however, as from behind Callum, in a booming voice, came “Halfway! That you?”

Surprised, Callum spun around, before smiling so wide he thought his face would split open “Mick! Oh it’s good to see you mate.”

Behind Callum was a man slightly shorter and older than himself, dressed in a soldier’s uniform with a huge grin spread across his face. Before Callum could say anything else he was pulled in roughly for a massive bear hug. The two men clapped each other on the back a couple of times before pulling back.

“Uh, who’s this?” Frankie asked, standing perplexed behind the two.

“Mick Carter, darling,” Mick said, reaching out a hand to Frankie “I know Callum from Walford”

Frankie smiled politely and took Mick’s hand, eyes darting back to Callum’s to signal him to explain further.

_ “Mick owned the bar I used to work at during uni”  _ Callum signed quickly.

Frankie’s eyes lit up with understanding, silently mouthing an ‘oh’ before signing  _ “Queen Victoria Mick? The one that’s basically your dad?” _

_“That’s the one”_ Callum confirmed, smiling happily. He never spoke about his biological father, since all of the stories he had about him were upsetting, to say the least, but he _always_ worked Mick into conversation whenever he could. If he and Frankie were drinking he would talk about how Mick would have served them if they had been at the Vic, if they were measuring out medicine he would mention how Mick _always_ measured out the exact right amount of drink, everytime without fail, when they were walking from their tents to the aid post he would reminisce on the walks he, Mick, and Linda would take through Walford on nights out.

Honestly, Callum was surprised Frankie didn’t immediately recognise him by his name.

Mick tapped Callum’s arm jovially, and asked “what you saying about me over there Callum, I swear I saw my name”

Callum laughed and nudged Mick’s shoulder with his own “nothing but good, don’t you worry”

Mick grinned, then turned to Frankie conspiratorially and said “all lies my girl,” causing the three of them to laugh.

It made Callum happy to see the two hit it off. He didn’t know what he would’ve done if they hated each other.

“So Mick” Frankie began, hands fiddling with her stethoscope “did you come with the new guys yesterday?”

“Sure did, sure did, lovely bunch of lads” Mick confirmed, shoving his hands into his pockets, keeping his posture open and welcoming “don’t half make fun of me for being the oldest though”

“Oh yeah?” Callum laughed “who’s the worst”

Mick smiled and ducked his head slightly, before answering “this snarky young guy, Ben Mitchell, about your age I think”

Callum froze and laughed nervously “i-is that so?”

He locked eyes with Frankie, who was looking at him with confusion at his sudden change in mood, and he signed  _ “the guy!” _

Understanding blossomed across Frankie’s face, but didn’t sign anything as to not alert Mick.

Unaware of Callum’s panic, Mick continued “I hated him when I first met him mind you, but once you get to know him he’s a lovely boy, saved my life in the last battle we was in”

“How so?” Frankie asked.

“Nearly ran over a landmine but Ben had sharp eyes and pulled me back” Mick explained, smile more sombre than before “wouldn’t be standing here if it wasn’t for him”

“Wow Mick, that’s a little surreal” Callum said, wondering how a man he hadn’t even met could make such a difference in his life. Callum wasn’t stupid, he knew when Mick got drafted there was a chance he wouldn’t see his friend ever again, but it was never something he had accepted. Knowing how close he came to being  _ forced _ to accept it disconcerted Callum greatly.

“Yeah I know” Mick agreed, voice low, before darting his eyes away exclaiming “well, speak of the Devil!”

To Callum’s absolute  _ horror,  _ the man - Ben - had walked up to their little group, clasping Mick’s shoulder in greeting.

“Alright Mick? Not chatting any shit about me are you?” Ben laughed before looking up at Callum.

Callum felt himself  _ melt. _

After a moment of nerve wracking eye contact, Ben said “alright mate?” to Callum.

“I-uh, y-yeah, yourself?” Callum replied, mentally kicking himself.

Coming to his rescue, Frankie reached a hand towards Ben “hi, I’m Dr Frankie Lewis, that’s mine and Mick’s best mate Dr Callum Highway”

Ben averted his gaze towards Frankie, allowing Callum to start breathing again, and shook her hand “ooooh, a couple of brainbox doctors are you?”

“We’re not a couple” Callum blurted out, causing him to wince at his own social ineptitude.

Frankie looked at him as if to say ‘for the love of God, please shut the fuck up,’ and Ben looked at him as if to say ‘wow what a fucking idiot, I need to make sure to never speak with him ever again.’

Or so Callum thought.

“Alright alright” Ben said, holding his hands up in apology, an easy, beautiful smile on his face that Callum would love to kiss silly and-

Callum mentally dunked himself in a bucket of cold water.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to imply that.” Ben said, before turning to Mick “I came over to say we’re all needed in the trenches like, now”

Mick groaned and rubbed his eyes “honestly, we’ve been digging all day and now they want us to do  _ more?  _ Running the Vic was less tiring than this”

Callum sympathetically patted him on the back and said “c’mon Mick, I know you’re getting up there but you’re not so old that you can’t handle a little digging, surely”

Mick groaned louder and hit Callum in the side in retaliation. Callum went to hit Mick back when Ben started laughing, and Callum swore it was the most amazing sound he’d ever heard in his  _ life. _

Callum faltered for a second, before a subtle kick in the shin from Frankie reminded him where he was.

“I’ll see you down there Mick” Ben chuckled, before sticking his hand out at Callum, who thankfully grabbed it before things became awkward again “nice meeting you, Doc, hope we see more of each other”

“Uh, you too mate” Callum replied, and shook Ben’s hand a little more vigorously than was strictly necessary.

“You as well Lewis!” Ben said, looking directly at Frankie as he did so, before walking out of the tent.

“Well, I’d better head as well” Mick said, rolling his shoulders and cracking his neck in preparation for the work that was before him “see you two!”

“Bye Mick” Callum called after Mick as he walked off, before collapsing onto a nearby chair.

_ “Was that as painful as I thought it was?”  _ he asked Frankie, feeling more sorry for himself than he had ever felt in his life.

Frankie crouched down so that they were eye level, and smiled at him the way she did whenever she delivered bad news to a patient. Patting his knee sympathetically she stuck out her pinkies, bringing them together momentarily, and pulled them apart, signing just one word.

_ “Worse.” _


	2. Injuries and Elm Trees

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm not deaf but there's a scene briefly exploring the struggles of being deaf in an ableist society. I tried my best but obviously there's no substitute for lived experience so please please tell me if I need to change it or just completely cut it out
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoy! I might make some edits tomorrow since I'm like half awake rn bhfhjsd

_ “But you don’t know that!”  _ Frankie insisted, standing firm at the door of Callum’s tent.

_ “Yes I do Frankie!”  _ Callum retorted, standing equally firm next to his bedroll. They were  _ meant  _ to be walking to the aid post together, needing to finish preparing for the battle coming in the next few days.

Frankie, however, had other plans.

_ “You didn’t see him though! I don’t think I’ve ever seen such longing in a person's eyes before”  _ She continued, hands flinging about passionately. Ever since they had met Ben the day before she had been  _ adamant  _ that there was something between him and Callum, that, as if their life were a novel, they were destined to be together.

It would be annoying if the stupid optimist inside Callum wasn’t eating it all up.

_ “Funny, because I saw the same longing in  _ your  _ eyes yesterday”  _ he sassed, his grin a mirror of Frankie’s own patented smirk. After all, he had learned from the best.

Frankie’s jaw dropped, affronted, and she signed _ “that is a low blow Callum Highway, and get my grin off your face!” _ She pushed her hair back behind her ears angrily and checked her watch, realising their never-ending argument was going to make them late.

Annoyance radiating off her in waves she signed  _ “this is  _ not  _ over”  _ and ripped open Callum’s door flap, and stormed out.

Callum groaned before walking through the flap and out, running to catch up to where she had sped walked away. He grabbed her hand to get her to slow down, relieved when she didn’t throw him off.

“It’s not like I don’t appreciate the message Frankie, I do, I just don’t want to get my hopes up over nothing” Callum explained, still holding her hand as they walked.

“I know Callum, but I  _ want _ you to  _ enjoy _ getting your hopes up” Frankie countered “I really think there’s something between you guys”

Callum breathed in deeply and looked away. It didn’t  _ really  _ bother him how hard Frankie was fighting for this, but he  _ hated  _ the fact that he was actually  _ believing  _ he could have something with Ben, that he was becoming  _ optimistic _ about it.

In Callum’s experience, optimism had  _ never  _ led to anything good.

To him, it was just an indicator to the universe of how much you wanted something, of how happy it would make you, just so that it knew exactly what would hurt the most to have ripped away. Such as when he had hoped, wished, and even  _ prayed  _ to a God that he didn’t even believe in to spare Mick from the draft, and he ended up being the first person Callum knew to get his letter.

Optimism just didn’t help.

He breathed out and opened his mouth to reply when suddenly they were interrupted.

“Alright, guys?” Mick said, walking up next to the pair, causing Callum to jump.

“Jesus Mick, scared the shit out of me there,” Callum said, hand on his chest to try and help catch his breath.

Mick laughed heartily and slapped Callum on the back, “sorry son” he said, before asking “so what were you two talking about before I interrupted there? Looked a little heated.”

Callum and Frankie shared a look. Frankie’s said  _ he’s your friend,  _ you _ should make up an excuse!  _ And Callum’s said  _ you know all of my excuses are terrible!  _ To which Frankie retaliated by looking away, ending their stare-fight and leaving Callum with the responsibility of coming up with something.

“Uh, just about, um, medicine?” Callum eventually landed on, and despite the cool French November air Callum felt warm under his collar.

“You don’t sound so sure of yourself” Mick replied, his eyebrows drawn together slightly, making his grin look confused rather than easy.

“No no I’m sure” Callum assured, wracking his brain for something believable to say “Frankie she uh, doesn’t think bandages should be used.”

Frankie pulled on his hand sharply as a punishment for his idiocy, and honestly, Callum knew he deserved it.

Mick, to his credit, took it in his stride “really? What should we use instead then doctor”

Frankie turned her head to the two men, a smile on her face that Callum knew was pained but to Mick probably just looked polite “oh, I uh-” she scrambled quickly for a believable answer “-don’t think we should use anything, blood clotting is far more effective”

Callum marvelled at her quick thinking for a second and squeezed her hand to show it, an action that was unsurprisingly not returned.

“Uh, okay” Mick replied, stroking a hand over his beard “you know I’ll be sticking to bandages but you let me know if your method ends up being any more effective”

Frankie laughed politely and said “I will, I will, anyway I need to see a soldier about a leg ache so I’ll meet you at the aid post later Callum”

“See ya,” Callum said as Frankie walked off.

He turned his head to Mick to start a new conversation, one preferably without any made up medical opinions, when he saw Mick smirking suggestively.

“What?”

“Don’t think I didn’t see what you two were doing?” Mick said, nudging Callum’s shoulder - or rather the middle of his bicep on account of their height difference - with his own.

“I don't-?” Callum said, confused. They had just been walking from what Callum could remember.

Mick raised his eyebrows, still smirking, and said “your hands? Or do you hold hands with all of your ‘best mates’?” He put ‘best mates’ in air quotes.

Callum’s jaw dropped and his eyes became wider than the diaphragm of his stethoscope.

“That wasn’t- we’re  _ not- _ ” Callum tried to get out, stumbling over his words as clumsily as a toddler trying to climb the stairs.

“Ah don’t trouble yourself about it Callum, I won’t say a word,” Mick said, tapping his nose with his forefinger and walking off.

“Mick it’s not what you think, we-!” Callum called after him, the day already feeling two weeks long.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Callum didn’t  _ mean  _ to go everywhere Ben did that day, but if he  _ had  _ meant to then he would be succeeding.

It felt like everywhere he turned he was running into the guy, and it wasn’t like Callum  _ hated  _ seeing him around, rather the opposite, but he did hate the fumbling  _ mess  _ he’d turn into around Ben. It frustrated Callum to no end, he was a  _ doctor  _ for fucks sake, people skills were kind of in the job description.

Thankfully, Ben never stayed long enough for Callum to do any real damage to their hopefully blooming relationship, but he  _ did _ stick around long enough for Callum to thoroughly embarrass himself.

Frankie said he came off as charming, Callum knew he came off as a knobhead.

He first ran into Ben an hour or so after Mick had left while organising medical supplies - he had been not so kindly told to do so by the head nurse, Ms Carter, after he joked about how messy the cupboards were, Callum  _ swore  _ she had something against him - and Ben had walked in with another soldier in his platoon who was cradling his left hand. It had been wrapped in a suspiciously red cloth, his face a contorted mess of pain.

“Hey, Doc! Johnson’s fucked his hand, mind taking a look?” Ben called over to Callum, who promptly trapped his hand in the cupboard door. Hissing in pain brought his hand up to his chest, a mirror of Johnson, and squeezed his eyes shut for a second. Before he opened them he felt a warm hand cover his shoulder. He almost relaxed into it before he realised how much of a bad idea that was.

“Hey, you alright?” he heard Ben say on his right, and Callum immediately snapped his eyes open at the sound.

Callum had meant to tell him he was fine, that he injured himself like this all the time, that there was no need to worry. What came out of his mouth however was “you cut your hair.”

Ben chuckled, confused, and brought a hand up to his freshly shaved sides that Callum  _ would _ be imagining running his hands through right now if he wasn’t trying to figure out how to disappear into thin air.

“Uh, yeah, yeah I did, you sure you’re fine?” He gave Callum a look of concern, and Callum felt an undeniable urge to facepalm at his social ineptitude.

“D- uh- yeah! Yeah, I’m fine!” He sputtered out, shaking his hand and grimacing when a spark of pain shot through it. “I’m uh, just naturally pretty clumsy”

Ben chuckled slightly, a relieved expression replacing his concerned one and said “really? I thought you doctors were meant to have steady hands”

“Nah that’s surgeons, I am but a lowly emergency med doc” Callum replied.

Ben laughed again, lightly slapping Callum’s shoulder, causing a wave of warmth to spread throughout Callum’s body. It would be funny how smitten Callum already was with Ben if it didn’t get him in situations like this one.

“Hey uh, could I get some help here?” a weak voice asked from behind Ben. Callum quickly looked up and saw Johnson sitting heavily on the bed, face pale from the likely horrific pain coming from his arm.

Callum cursed himself silently, soldiers never came to the medical tent unless they _really_ had to, so whatever was wrong with the man _definitely_ couldn’t wait for Callum to flirt with his totally out of reach crush

“Oh, yes of course! So sorry” Callum said before rushing over.

“He sliced it open on his bayonet” Ben informed Callum as he walked over “fucking incredible amount of blood.”

“Blood always looks like much more than it really is” Callum replied almost automatically, having given the same response to worried family members hundreds of times during his rotations back in England.

He gently took Johnson’s hand in his own and carefully unwrapped the cloth, causing the soldier to hiss when the air touched his wound. It extended diagonally from the bottom right of his hand to the base of his pointer finger and Callum immediately felt bad for making the guy wait so long. The cut was deep and the skin was ragged, and Callum wondered if he could get the guy some whisky for when they cleaned the wound out. He would give him painkillers but they had to conserve them for bigger injuries like blown-off limbs, and besides, whisky was more effective.

As Callum thought through a treatment plan he felt Ben’s hand land back on his right shoulder.

“I’m gonna head off Doc, lieutenant will have my head if I’m away any longer” Ben informed Callum, flashing him a smile that made Callum’s heart stop.

“Uh, y-yeah sure, of course, can't go without a head, can you?” Callum sputtered out, and he started working out how long it would take him to walk to the nearest cliff.

“Uh, yeah, definitely not” Ben replied, smile less stunningly beautiful and more ‘what the literal shit is this guy talking about is he alright’.

Or at least that’s how Callum interpreted it.

Callum watched Ben go as he walked out of the tent, and sighed, wondering how one man could be so gorgeous just by walking.

Until he was snapped out of it by Johnson asking if he was going to let his wound clot instead of bandaging it like Mick said he would.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

The next time Callum saw Ben was during lunch.

He and Frankie had been on their way to their usual spot to eat - a quickly dying patch of flowers a couple of hundred yards away from the aid post that Callum liked.

_ They’re such a nice colour, Frankie. _

_ Yeah, dying brown, so pretty. _

They had just gotten their food when Callum spotted the nurse with the messy bun Frankie liked, and, because he was an  _ amazing  _ friend, he pulled Frankie over by the arm to where she was sitting.

“The fuck are we going?” Frankie asked bewilderedly, tripping slightly as Callum yanked her along.

“Spotted that nurse you liked” Callum explained jovially, “we’re going to have lunch with her.”

Frankie’s eyes widened comically and she stopped in them in their tracks “are you fucking insane?! I can’t just go up to her!”

“Uh, and why not?” Callum challenged, crossing his arms and looking at Frankie with an expression he hoped was commanding.

Frankie looked at him incredulously, and Callum worried for a moment there was something on his face “well for starters we’ve never actually fucking spoken! What am I meant to do, sit down out of nowhere and ask how her day’s been?”

“Well, yeah” Callum replied, struggling to see the flaw in her plan.

Frankie just rolled her eyes and blew a piece of her hair out of her face. Callum could see the cogs turning in her brain and she considered her options. There was option A, don’t try to talk to the nurse and suffer through Callum taking the piss out of her for it, as well as risking him not even  _ trying  _ with Ben anymore, or option B, start a conversation with the woman and hope to God she didn't embarrass herself.

Frankie looked at Callum for a moment, her face a stony image of furious contemplation, before groaning out “Ugh,  _ fine, _ ” and stomping past a smug Callum before she lost her nerve.

The nurse was sitting at a  _ very  _ scuffed up brown picnic table. Her hair was again in a messy bun at the bottom of her head and her hat was sitting next to her food while she ate. Opposite her was a soldier, who she seemed to be having a friendly conversation with. Callum couldn’t see the guy’s face since his back was to Callum but he seemed to be a little short, had soft brown hair that looked freshly shaven, hair Callum wouldn’t mind running his fingers through actually and - wait, oh fuck,  _ fuck. _

The soldier was Ben  _ fucking  _ Mitchell.

“Uh, maybe you shouldn’t speak to the nurse,” Callum said after stopping in his tracks. Frankie looked at him, baffled, before whipping around to see what was bothering him.

When she turned to look back at him there was nothing but pure exasperation on her face, and she signed  _ “fuck off, if I’m talking to my gay crush then so are you”  _ before dragging him over the same way he had been dragging her.

“No no, you were right this was a mistake and -  _ oof”  _ Callum exclaimed after Frankie shoved him into the table, smacking his knees against the bench and causing him to slap his hands against the table to avoid falling further. He looked back at Frankie scathingly, but she just signed  _ “you’re welcome”  _ back at him.

Callum knew she was just making sure Ben would notice him so he couldn’t run off, but  _ fuck  _ there must have been a better way to do it, he thought as he rubbed his sore knees.

“Uh, alright there doc?” Ben asked, bemused. He was on Callum’s left and had turned so that he was fully facing Callum, body twisted in a position that looked uncomfortable. Callum quirked an eyebrow at the sight but didn’t mention it.

“Uh, yeah, just tripped over my own feet there” he laughed, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly, “C-can we sit with you two?”

“Of course!” the nurse said, and Callum swore he heard Frankie gasp when she did. Callum went to roll his eyes before remembering his freak out about Ben in the aid station the day before and quickly decided not to be a hypocrite.

“Cheers,” Callum thanked, before sliding onto the bench next to Ben. He sat his lunch down - a bit of beef and bread and some water - and looked up at Frankie who was doing the same, albeit with a  _ very  _ obvious blush.

Once she was looking at him he signed  _ “nice blush,”  _ smiling cheekily as he brought his hands up the side of his face to say _ “blush.” _

Frankie scowled and formed a circle with her hand, bringing up to her forehead, down, and back up to call him a dickhead.

Callum went to retaliate when next to him Ben choked on the water he had started sipping. Callum thwacked him on the back as he coughed.

“You alright soldier?” Frankie asked, and Callum could hear her doctor voice threatening to take over.

“Fine fine, just went down the wrong pipe is all” Ben replied, gasping for air slightly as he thanked Callum with a nod.

“So Frankie,” the nurse began after Ben caught his breath, “I’ve been meaning to ask you, and I hope this doesn’t sound rude but-” and Callum winced a little knowing where the conversation was going.

In their time being friends Callum had seen Frankie deal with a lot to do with her being deaf, or more specifically people’s  _ reactions  _ to her being deaf. She already surprised a lot of people by being a woman in medicine, but being deaf on top of that? Callum honestly didn’t know how she hadn’t murdered someone yet.

She got all sorts, from other doctors treating her like a student rather than a professional probably more skilled than  _ them,  _ to patients outright refusing to be treated by her out of fear she’ll do a bad job. It was infuriating, and Callum had no idea how Frankie remained so calm when it happened.

Once, Callum got in an argument with another doctor who was being incredibly demeaning towards Frankie. He had been talking over her, second-guessing her _ in front of patients,  _ basically doing everything he could to let Frankie know he didn’t respect her. So Callum, furious at his friend being treated like shit, told the guy off, initiating an almost screaming match with him.

Frankie had pulled him out of the room to somewhere just them. Callum had been worried she was going to cry or something equally heartbreaking, but what he hadn’t expected was her getting mad. At  _ Callum. _

_ “What the fuck was that?”  _ she had signed at him, anger radiating off her in waves, making Callum recoil slightly.

_ “Why are you mad at me? He was being an asshole!”  _ Callum had signed back, feeling blind-sighted, and slightly hurt Frankie was being so mean when he had just been trying to help.

_ “I know! But you can’t scream at every asshole, Callum!”  _ Frankie had replied, hands exploding into furious sign.

Callum scoffed angrily, before signing  _ “I was just trying to protect you!” _

_ “I don’t need you to fucking protect me! I need you to support me!”  _ Frankie had replied, seething.

That’d made Callum falter for a second, confused, because wasn’t that what he had done?

_ “What do you mean?”  _ he’d asked, a dreadful feeling he had done something  _ really  _ wrong creating a pit in his belly.

Then it had been Frankie’s turn to scoff before quickly signing  _ “I don’t need you to fight my battles, I am perfectly capable of doing that myself and I don’t need getting babied by you when everyone else already does so.” _

Then Frankie tucked her hair behind her ears, face relaxing into a calmer expression  _ “I didn’t want to make a scene, but you took that decision away from me when you stepped in without asking.” _

“Frankie,” Callum had breathed out, feeling like a bigger asshole than that shitty doctor.

Frankie had smiled at him sympathetically then, and signed  _ “thank you for caring, but please fuck off if you think I can’t protect myself” _

Callum had laughed a little at that, and signed  _ “I’m sorry, I thought I was doing the right thing, but I was just treating you like everyone you hate.” _

_ “Next time just follow my lead yeah? If I want you to yell at someone I’ll tell you”  _ Frankie had replied, giggling as she did.

That had made Callum smile and he nodded in agreement before asking  _ “anything I can do right now?” _

Callum would never forget the soft, loved-filled expression Frankie had, her eyes  _ sparkling  _ before opening her arms, signalling him to come in for a hug, which he gladly did.

Callum smiled at the memory and knew no matter what the nurse said Frankie would be able to handle it, and he was always ready to jump in if she asked.

“-it’s just I’m always seeing you two signing and you know, I don’t want to be rude but-”

“You want to know if I’m deaf?” Frankie guessed, cutting off the nurse’s nervous rambling by placing a hand on hers.

It took everything in Callum not to gape at the sight, absolutely bewildered as to how Frankie could go from being starstruck at the sight of the nurse to fucking  _ holding hands.  _ The thought of him holding  _ Ben's  _ hand made him feel sick with anxiety.

“Y-yeah, as I said, I didn’t want to be rude, you know, ruin your first impression of me” the nurse replied.

Frankie smiled at the woman, “nah, don’t worry about it, and yeah I am” she moved her hair to better show off her hearing aids “got the machinery and all.”

“Woh, must be a right pain lugging that about all the time,” the nurse said, studying Frankie’s ears intently.

Frankie laughed, and squeezed the woman’s hand “ah, you get used to it.”

They locked eyes for a moment, and Callum felt as though he was interrupting something private before the nurse jerked a little, and exclaimed: “oh how rude of me I haven’t even introduced myself yet!”

She stuck her free hand out towards Frankie and said “I’m Bernadette but everyone calls me Bernie” Frankie shook the offered hand with the wrong one since the right one was still holding Bernie’s other hand [I am literally so sorry for that sentence lmao] and she was  _ not  _ about to let go.

“Frankie” she responded, smiling as though she had won the lottery.

“I’m Callum!” Callum interjected, causing the pair opposite him to turn around, surprised, as if they had forgotten Ben and Callum were there. He responded to Frankie’s glare with a grin.

“Nice to meet you” Bernie responded, smiling unlike Frankie, and stuck her hand out to Callum, who shook it firmly. “I assume you’ve already met Ben?” She asked.

“Yeah yeah,” Callum replied, before turning so he was facing the side of Ben’s face and adding “saw me nearly break my hand this morning, actually.”

He had expected Ben to laugh, maybe tease him a little, but he was met with silence as if Ben hadn’t even heard him. Callum frowned, worried he had said something wrong and now Ben was ignoring him, despite that being impossible since he had barely spoken ten words to the man since they got here. In Callum’s defence, he wasn’t exactly  _ rational  _ when it came to Ben.

“Ben?” Bernie prompted, causing Ben to start and look around at the three of them.

“Sorry, zoned out for a second there” he turned to Callum a sheepish smile on his face and asked, “what did you say?”

Callum blinked, unable to think for a second with Ben’s focus entirely on him, distracted by those steely blue eyes gazing into his own. “Uh, just, you saw me about break my hand today,” he ended with a smile, hoping his words didn’t come off as awkward as he felt.

Thankfully, it seemed that they hadn’t, since Ben let out a bark of laughter and exclaimed “oh yeah! Didn’t half frighten me.”

He turned back to face the women and started to regale them with the story of that morning. Callum let his gaze linger on the soldier, momentarily curious as to what had just happened, if Ben really had just zoned out, or if there was something more.

After a moment, however, he turned back to the women in front of him, deciding to leave it alone.

It was probably nothing.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

The next time Callum saw Ben he had meant to ask Whitney something but had completely forgotten what it was when he saw Ben next to her.

He was going to walk - not run,  _ Frankie _ \- back to the other side of the medical tent when Whitney caught his eye and waved him over.

Shaking slightly Callum slowly walked over to the pair, hoping the ground would swallow him up before he arrived.

Thankfully, Ben walked away before Callum got there, bidding Whitney a quick goodbye before heading towards the exit. 

_ Thank fuck  _ Callum had thought, glad to miss another opportunity to do something strange in front of Ben.

On the way out, however, Ben brushed shoulders with Callum and flashed him a smile, which would have been fine if it hadn’t suddenly turned Callum into a baby giraffe still learning how to walk. He tried to smile back but instead tripped over a nearby table, sending him crashing to the floor.

If Callum ever needed confirmation that the universe hated him,  _ this  _ would be the moment.

“Callum, are you okay?” came Whitney’s worried call as she rushed over to his side, crouching down to grab his face and check it for injuries.

“I’m fine, I’m fine” Callum reassured her, grinning at her in a way he hoped was heartening for her “just as clumsy as ever.”

Whitney smiled back and gave his shoulder a playful shove “I swear you hurt yourself more than those soldiers out there.” Callum laughed and nodded in agreement, and watched her walk back to whatever she had been doing.

She wasn’t wrong, not by a mile, Frankie and Mick were always getting at him to be more careful as if he wouldn’t if he could. If Callum was superstitious he would think his clumsiness was a result of being followed around by dickish ghosts that pushed him into things for the love of it.

“Fucking hell, sorry mate,” Ben said behind Callum, causing Callum to snap his head up to look at Ben. He was stood over Callum, eyebrows pinched together, eyes wide, and his mouth in a frown. All in all, he looked  _ worried _ about Callum.

Callum felt his heart flutter.

“N-no don’t be, you barely touched me” Callum replied, trying to school his features into something  _ not  _ totally lovestruck.

“I should’ve paid more mind to where I was going” Ben grumbled, extending a hand out towards Callum.

Callum looked at Ben’s hand for a beat, an awkward moment passing by before Callum caught on and grabbed Ben’s hand to help haul himself up, quietly screaming internally because  _ holy shit they were holding hands. _

Only, they completely underestimated each other’s strength and each pulled way too hard, causing Callum to crash into Ben, arms flying around the man’s shoulders to steady himself, Ben’s coming up to grab Callum’s waist.

In the kerfuffle, Callum’s eyes found Frankie, who had just walked into the tent. She took one look at the chaos, smirked at him, and signed  _ “idiot”  _ before walking away.

If Callum hadn’t been freaking out he would’ve been impressed by how effortlessly cool she managed to be.

“Uh,” he heard Ben say, and was quickly reminded of what was happening. He ripped himself out of Ben’s arms, ignoring how cold he suddenly felt, and stood up straight.

Callum has had his fair share of traumatic events but  _ fuck  _ if that wasn’t the worst thing he had ever done.

“S-sorry!” he managed to stutter out, a hand reaching out to brush a speck of dust off Ben’s uniform before thinking better of it and bringing it up to rub the back of his neck nervously.

Ben huffed out a laugh and smiled slightly, “no worries, underestimated my own strength a little there.”

Callum smiled anxiously, mumbling out a feeble “me too.”

“Well uh,” Ben began, eyes drifting over to the exit “better um, better head.”

“Yeah, yeah of course! Don’t let me keep you”

Ben nodded and took a step towards the exit, before pausing, obviously having some sort of internal debate. He looked back at Callum and said “actually, I’ve been meaning to ask you,” he dropped his voice and leaned in closer “would you meet me out by the tree? Have something I need to say.”

Callum felt his breath catch in his throat.

At the base, there was very little greenery. The most they got in the way of green spaces was a couple of patches of quickly dying grass, those dying flowers Callum loved, and a few shrubs littered about. However, right near the outskirts of the camp was a massive elm tree. It was comprised of five dark brown trunks, each with a multitude of branches spiralling off in every which way, creating beautiful, weaving patterns between them, and since it was winter most of the leaves had turned brown and fallen off, leaving it bare and naked.

What made Callum lose his breath however wasn’t the tree itself, it’s what it was known for, what it was known to be _used_ for.

The thing about the tree being so close to the boundaries of the base was that it was very removed from the main areas. It was about a five-minute walk from the nearest building or tent, meaning you were very unlikely to bump into anyone, and more importantly you were very unlikely to be  _ overheard _ or  _ seen  _ by anyone.

It was common knowledge that the tree was used for things people would rather keep private, like settling arguments with fists away from meddling superior officers, trading drugs under the cover of the moon, two (or more) people enjoying a night together in the privacy unafforded to them by their tiny tents or the trenches. It was a no man’s land of sorts, where the rules didn’t apply because there was no one there to enforce them.

Callum gulped, and breathed out a “yeah, what time?”

Ben exhaled and grinned slightly as if he was relieved Callum had agreed.

_ What if that smile means he-  _ a small, hopeful voice in Callum’s head began before he ruthlessly cut it off.

“Nine tonight” Ben replied, before winking and adding “don’t be late!” Before turning on his heel and walking out of the tent.

Callum watched him leave, dumbstruck, head empty except for one thought.

_ Frankie’s going to have a fucking  _ field day.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

_ “Run that by me again”  _ Frankie signed, movements quick and her face a picture of solid disbelief, not dissimilar to her expression when Callum signed with her for the first time.

_ “I fell over, he pulled me up, and before Ben left he invited me to the fucking  _ tree _ ”  _ Callum signed back, movements equally quick. He sat down heavily onto one of the beds meant for patients (not before quickly scanning the area for Ms Carter, who’d have his  _ head  _ if she caught him), then sighed out deeply and suppressed the need to sink his head onto the pillow and scream.

It was nearing 8:45 and Callum was  _ shitting  _ himself.

_ “Right well, what are you doing here? You’d better get going”  _ Frankie signed, giving Callum’s knee a shove when she was done.

_ “I don’t know if I can, what if it’s something bad?”  _ Callum replied, worrying his lip as worst-case scenarios flashed before his eyes. What if he  _ had  _ said something wrong at lunch? What if Ben tried to pressure him into getting him drugs? What if, and the thought of this made Callum’s stomach drop, what if he knew about Callum’s crush and just wanted to beat the gay out of him?

As he fretted Frankie rolled her eyes and dropped herself onto the bed. She took his hand, looked straight into his eyes, and said “stop. Fucking. Worrying.” She punctuated each word with a squeeze to his hand, making Callum smile despite himself.

He wanted to go, he really did, it was just _so_ risky.

“But-” he began, before Frankie huffed and quickly brought her free hand up to cover Callum’s mouth, cutting him off.

“No fucking buts! You are going, end of” she exclaimed. She studied Callum’s eyes for a moment before continuing “if I take my hand off will you say that you’ll go?”

Callum looked back at her and thought for a moment. On one hand, he might be walking into a beating, but on the other, he might be walking into a situation he thought could only live out in his dreams.

The risk was real, and there was no guarantee that Callum wouldn’t end up hurt, but he was a fucking  _ army  _ doctor, taking risks was a part of the job.

Taking a deep breath in and out through his nose Callum steeled himself and nodded once, prompting Frankie to slowly lower her hand, eyes locked with his as she did, watching for a sign of him going back on what he had just promised.

She didn’t find one though, and once Callum could speak he said “I’m going to go,” causing Frankie to smile a wide, happy smile, her eyes crinkling because of its strength.

“Well, good luck soldier, and you’d better tell me  _ everything”  _ she replied, before pulling him into a crushing hug.

Callum laughed, and hugged back equally tight, rubbing a hand up and down her back. He was still scared about meeting Ben, but with Frankie’s support his fear felt less crushing.

They pulled back, and after a beat Frankie signed  _ “I love you.” _

Callum broke into his own face splitting grin and signed back  _ “I love you too.” _

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Cautiously, Callum walked the unfamiliar path to the tree. He’d never had cause to go before, he only knew the way because another doctor insisted that he  _ had _ to and showed him. At the time the man’s insistence had annoyed Callum, but now he was immensely grateful.

It had just gone 9pm, and Callum was coming up to the tree. It was a cold night, and its numerous branches were all covered in frost, beautifully lit up by the moonlight. Rather romantic, Callum thought, before scoffing at himself for even entertaining such an idea.

As Callum got closer he realised Ben was standing under the tree, hands anxiously hitting against each other. Callum didn’t like to see Ben worried, but it was better than him being angry.

Suddenly, Ben’s head turned towards Callum, and they locked eyes. Ben looked nervous, eyebrows punched together, the corners of his mouth turned down, and his hair slightly messy as if he had been threading his fingers through it just for something to do with his hands.

“Ben, are you alright-” Callum started, before he was cut off by Ben grabbing the lapels of his jacket, and pulling him in for a searing kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm bisexualballum on Tumblr so come say hi if you want!


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